Material for BT3100 ZCTP

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • tmaceroli
    Established Member
    • Mar 2004
    • 132
    • Forked River, New Jersey, USA.
    • Ryobi BT3100

    Material for BT3100 ZCTP

    What type of material are people using to make ZCTPs these days? I did a search on the site, but didn't come up with anything. Also, I gather that Lee isn't making them any more. I still have a old one I bought from him years ago, but it's getting a little long in the tooth...

    Tony

    "Nothing would be done at all if a man waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault with it."
    - Cardinal Newman
  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    I made several from polycarbonate a few years ago and a couple from HDMW? cutting boards. Still have them somewhere.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

    Comment

    • twistsol
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 2893
      • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
      • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

      #3
      The last one I made was from 1/4 hardboard. It wsa a bit flexier than I wanted, but it worked just fine.
      Chr's
      __________
      An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
      A moral man does it.

      Comment

      • tmaceroli
        Established Member
        • Mar 2004
        • 132
        • Forked River, New Jersey, USA.
        • Ryobi BT3100

        #4
        Thanks for the replies. I probably should have been more specific. I was concerned with the very thin (less than 1/10th Inch thick) lip around the perimeter of the plate. I'm using the newer Red ZCTP as a model. I was assuming that I would have to try and route that, and I was concerned with heat during the cutting process, and then strength after that. Can you route polycarbonate? For that matter, can you route HDPE? Finally, what is HDMW?

        Anyone have a picture of theirs to show?

        Best,
        Tony
        Tony

        "Nothing would be done at all if a man waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault with it."
        - Cardinal Newman

        Comment

        • Bill in Buena Park
          Veteran Member
          • Nov 2007
          • 1865
          • Buena Park, CA
          • CM 21829

          #5
          I *think* Hank meant UHMW. Here's an example:
          These sheets have a non-stick low friction durable surface that results in the smoothest possible action when used in homemade or factory original jigs fixtures and fences Ult
          Bill in Buena Park

          Comment

          • Tom Slick
            Veteran Member
            • May 2005
            • 2913
            • Paso Robles, Calif, USA.
            • sears BT3 clone

            #6
            I made mine from 1/2” thin ply plywood.
            Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison

            Comment

            • mpc
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2005
              • 979
              • Cypress, CA, USA.
              • BT3000 orig 13amp model

              #7
              I use plywood for mine as well, run through the thickness planer after fabrication to get it to just the right thickness. For mounting, I don't use the same screw holes as the BT3's factory throat plate - I don't use those that are on the 1/10th inch thick section. Just inside those, where the bulk of the ZCTP lives, are existing holes that are not threaded by the factory. They're easy to tap though to take the same sized screws as the stock throat plate but you'll need 1 more. So my ZCTP actually has a small gap both in front of it and behind it, where the 1/10th inch lip would be. Hasn't been an issue for me. And making ZCTPs this way is much easier than trying to make something with skinny ears on each end.

              If those small 1/10th inch gaps concern someone, it'd be easy to make a small/thin rectangle to just fit those gaps and make the rest of the ZCTP a rectangle that fits in the deeper part of the stock BT3 opening. Just need even more screws...

              mpc

              Comment


              • LCHIEN
                LCHIEN commented
                Editing a comment
                I tried planing plywood once, what a disaster!

              • tmaceroli
                tmaceroli commented
                Editing a comment
                Kinda what I was thinking. On the BT3100 there are four small flanges, one at each corner of the opening, and they're all tapped for the same size screw used on the stock throat plate. They are about 10/32" below the table. I don't have a thickness planer, so I'd probably use 1/4" stock (HD sells small sheets of 1/4 and 1/2 inch poplar and maple), perhaps a thin washer underneath each screw to bring it up to just under the level of the table top. Could also use a few layers of blue tape in a pinch. Wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a problem to leave that small gap around the lip, and it sounds like it won't be.

                The alternative, of course is to route that lip. I'd probably need to attend a few anger management sessions before I attempted that.

                Thanks for the reply.

              • yamato72
                yamato72 commented
                Editing a comment
                I used a length of 1/2" poplar from one of the big box stores. And I did follow one of the guides on here to mill the underside out with my router table to get the right fit, including the thin extensions. I made 4 of them, assembly-line style.
                Last edited by yamato72; 11-13-2017, 02:14 PM.
            • leehljp
              Just me
              • Dec 2002
              • 8429
              • Tunica, MS
              • BT3000/3100

              #8
              Originally posted by Bill in Buena Park
              I *think* Hank meant UHMW. Here's an example:
              UMHW. Yes, that's it. 70+ years is taking its toll on my memory, or its all of that Japanese still rolling around inside!
              Hank Lee

              Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

              Comment

              • LCHIEN
                Internet Fact Checker
                • Dec 2002
                • 20914
                • Katy, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 vintage 1999

                #9
                Originally posted by leehljp

                UMHW. Yes, that's it. 70+ years is taking its toll on my memory, or its all of that Japanese still rolling around inside!
                Lee's still having memory problems.

                UHMW - Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic - very dense and slippery.
                Loring in Katy, TX USA
                If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                Comment

                • JoeyGee
                  Veteran Member
                  • Nov 2005
                  • 1509
                  • Sylvania, OH, USA.
                  • BT3100-1

                  #10
                  Interesting. Pieces like this would be an ideal place for a 3D printed part--sort of a niche product with no full scale production value anymore. I think PLA would be plenty strong. I don't have the time or the skills to draw one up, but for the right person, it should be relatively easy.
                  Joe

                  Comment


                  • atgcpaul
                    atgcpaul commented
                    Editing a comment
                    It depends. This would actually be a pretty big part for a consumer level 3D printer. I've found the stars need to be aligned for something that needs to be flat to stay flat during and after printing.

                    The PLA or ABS (there's even carbon fiber) would be plenty strong, though.
                • atgcpaul
                  Veteran Member
                  • Aug 2003
                  • 4055
                  • Maryland
                  • Grizzly 1023SLX

                  #11
                  I used a 1/2" piece of red oak with the necessary rabbets to make it sit flush with the top. No flex. Worked fine for years until I sold the saw. I remember the lip being small, but also remember that the weight of your workpiece will also be supported by the surrounding top, too.

                  Comment

                  • LCHIEN
                    Internet Fact Checker
                    • Dec 2002
                    • 20914
                    • Katy, TX, USA.
                    • BT3000 vintage 1999

                    #12
                    Actually, MPC is quite correct. The lip is probably never missed on the ZCTP. If you are worried about catching, put a tiny bevel with a sanding block on the leading edge of your ZCTP.
                    If I was going to make some ZCTP's I'd probably leave the thin lip completely off as MPC suggests.

                    As always be careful. The common mistake made in ZCTPs is that if you leave the entire ZCTP at the original thickness (1/2?) then the plate will touch a fully lowered 10" blade with the possible result of a stalled motor and broken belts, very bad news most any day. Especially when you plan on the triumph of watching your blade rise majestically through the brand new virgin ZCTP.

                    Cut a slight relief groove for the blade in the bottom of the ZCTP!!!
                    Last edited by LCHIEN; 11-11-2017, 02:34 AM.
                    Loring in Katy, TX USA
                    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                    Comment

                    • cwsmith
                      Veteran Member
                      • Dec 2005
                      • 2737
                      • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                      • BT3100-1

                      #13
                      I'm currently using a Ryobi plastic ZCTP that came in the accesory kit, but the first one I first made was simply a scrap piece from some fiberglass paneling leftovers. All you really need is something that is thin enough to fit the table indent and stiff enough so it won't sag. The fiberglass panel material comes in 4 x 8 sheets and cuts easily and here it is referred to as "FRP" ( https://www.homedepot.com/p/4-ft-x-8...09600/10038983) and now costs about $32 a sheet. (It was cheaper about a third cheaper when I used it a decade ago.) The specs state it is 0.090 in thichness, but mine measure just about 0.80-inch which is a match for the lip on the Ryobi ZTP.

                      Stuff cuts easily and you can even countersink the mounting holes. Did the job for me, except it's a bit ugly.

                      CWS
                      Last edited by cwsmith; 11-20-2017, 08:00 PM. Reason: Mispelling
                      Think it Through Before You Do!

                      Comment

                      • radhak
                        Veteran Member
                        • Apr 2006
                        • 3058
                        • Miramar, FL
                        • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

                        #14
                        I never owned a BT3, but had my own challenges with a ZCTP for the Unisaw. When I made my first I used 1/2" mdf and I began by thinking it'd be simple, then found myself chiseling away a small nub here and thin layer there, which I over-chiseled so had to kludge some material back. Ended up making a functional ZCTP, but the experience was not a happy one.

                        Then I tried making one for 45°, and failed. The problem is that I needed this for my thin-kerf blade, which is a full 10", but that blade would not fit under the blank (before the cut) and I could not hollow out the underside enough to make it fit. I tried using a smaller (8") blade that I had, but the physics of it did not help: when the blade is lifted up, the plane of the 8" does not follow the same plane as the 10", so a cut by one does not work for the other. I'd happily pay for any commercially availble ZCTP just for the 45°. Or maybe I should make one from 1/8 luann/hardboard, then add some appropriate material below to strengthen it.
                        It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
                        - Aristotle

                        Comment

                        • JimD
                          Veteran Member
                          • Feb 2003
                          • 4187
                          • Lexington, SC.

                          #15
                          I put down 3/8 oak flooring in one house and laminated oak flooring in another. A bunch of small scraps from these projects got turned into ZCTP and also dado throat plates. I put a lip around them with a dado cut. I've also just sawn a piece about 3/8 thick form a 2x4 to make a throat plate. Nearly any woodscrap works fine. I always have one in the saw after loosing both belts when an offcut fell into the original belts on my saw.

                          Comment

                          Working...